The Gaang Life
by blind-runaway
Summary: The title is cheesy, and will probably be changed. This story will be following the Gaang and their kids' stories throughout their childhood and adulthood.
1. The Masquerader

**Chapter 1 - The "Masquerader"**

 **I would just like to say that this is dedicated to a sims 2 series I watch called "My Life." It's really good, and I suggest you check it out. Credit to bryke for Avatar.**

* * *

Air Temple Island is a small isle located off the coast of Republic City in Yue Bay. Comprised of several structures, the temple was built by Avatar Aang himself. Air Temple Island houses many structures, including the large main temple building, dormitories, a library, a dining hall, a greenhouse, and several flying bison caves. An open practice area with airbending gates can be found outside along with a meditation pavilion. Amongst the massive island, there's a separate housing building specifically for Aang and his family. In this building contains the bedrooms for them and their children, Aang's personal office, a living area, a kitchen, and a dining area. Only family and close family friends are welcome in here. Occasionally, air acolytes are invited in to tidy up the place and watch over the kids when Katara or Aang are not available.

It was late at night, a few hours after sun down, and Katara was reading a bedtime story to her youngest, Tenzin. She'd been reading him the story of their adventures after the war. Aang had been teaching him all about the airbenders, and was working on helping him master a few simple airbending moves. As he was growing up, Aang and Katara told him about their adventures when they met, and how they saved the world together. Just like how they did with Kya and Bumi, when they were growing up too.

Tenzin was 9, Kya was 13, and Bumi was 17. Bumi was the only nonbender out of them all. He wasn't very fond of this. As two of the most powerful benders were his parents, how did they end up having a nonbender? That was an unsolved mystery. He had spent a lot of his childhood learning sword fighting from his uncle, Sokka. They got along like brothers, and spent all the time they could get together.

Kya was a lot like her mother, minus the whole motherly trait. Instead, she was a total "goof-ball." Katara always blamed Aang for this. Aang would always defend himself and his children, saying he would prefer his children to have a fun childhood, and have them avoid any thoughts about having big shoes to fill. Aang didn't want his children to have the childhood he did- after he was found in the iceberg. He wanted them to be free of any worries, and let them have all the fun they deserved.

"I was talking to dad earlier," Tenzin said, after his mother had finished her story, "I was telling him how there's an advantage to being the only two airbenders left."

"And what's that, sweetie?"

"Well, you know how a lot of people know fighting techniques of each of the other three elements?" Tenzin said.

When Katara looked at him with a strange look, as if she was slightly confused, he took that as his queue to explain.

"Like you said, Uncle Iroh used a lot of waterbending techniques to form his own firebending moves, like lightning redirection," Tenzin explained, "Well, no one really knows airbending moves, since it's been so long since they've been in existence. So me and dad have an advantage when we have to fight against others."

"That's a good point," Katara said, "But some people have studied ancient air bending moves. I noticed when I would fight Azula, sometimes she moved a lot like an airbender. It could have been a coincidence, but still- the information was always out there, you just had to go the extra mile to find it."

Tenzin just responded with an "Oh." Katara smiled in response. She looked over at the clock, and noticed it was nearly 10 o'clock. She turned out Tenzin's light, and kissed the top of his head.

"Get some sleep, sweetie," She said, pulling his blankets up close to his chin, "It's getting late, and you have to be up early tomorrow for meditation. I heard daddy has some special plans for you two tomorrow. He said to tell you it was a surprise. So get a lot of rest and I'll see you in the morning."

Tenzin smiled, "Sounds good, mom. Good night."

"Night."

* * *

Kya and Bumi always envied how Tenzin didn't have to go to school like they did. Kya hadn't been fond of going to school ever since she was in her fourth year, and Bumi was mentally exhausted of the whole idea, as it was his last year in school before graduation. Whenever Kya would whine and complain to her mother about how unfair she thought it was, that Bumi and her were forced to go to school, while Tenzin always stayed behind and got to have all the fun with Aang, Katara would only side with Aang. She would go into shallow explanation about how "Being the last airbender is not easy. Someone has to keep the culture up to date, and with Tenzin being so eager to learn about it, they need all the time they can get."

Every morning, the entire family would be awake. Tenzin and Aang would be in the mediation pavilion, while Katara made breakfast for everyone else. Kya would be all over the place, getting ready for school. She would never pack her lunch the night before, or plan out her outfits. Bumi would always plan his outfits the night before, but he took forever to wake up, and get him moving in gear.

Aang and Tenzin had finished their meditation early, and joined their family in the dining area for breakfast. Kya refused to look Tenzin or her father in the eye, since she was so mad about the whole "Tenzin gets home schooled" thing. Katara tried to contain a civil conversation lasting, but only proceeded to fail miserably. Tenzin and Aang only talked about their adventures of riding their sky bison around the island.

"And sometimes, we go all the way out of the city!" Tenzin finished with excitement.

Kya quickly looked up and gave him one of her deadly glares. Tenzin looked over, and stopped talking immediately afterwards. Once Aang and Katara realized he'd trailed off in fear, their attention was directed to Kya.

"Don't shut him down like that," Aang ordered, "He was trying to share a good story with you. You should be more grateful towards your little brother."

"You should be a little more _grateful_ to the _rest_ of your children," Kya immediately growled back at him, keeping her eyes locked on his in the same glare she was delivering to Tenzin.

Aang was taken aback by the hurtful comment. He gasped, obviously offended. Kya kept her eyes locked on him. He didn't know what to say. He never heard Kya talk back to him such a rude manor. After about a minute of silence, Kya had left the table.

"Nothing to say?" She asked. "It's about time you realized you had two other children."

She angrily stomped out of the dining room, kicking aside a chair on her way out. After Katara had yelled, and attempted to chase after her, Aang stopped her. He'd told her to just let her be, and that she just needed to cool off.

"Aang, this is no way to treat your daughter!" Katara yelled. "Clearly, she feels excluded and hurt! You shouldn't let her talk to you like that, either!"

"She needs to cool down on her own," Aang tried to explain, "I know my daughter. She needs her own time to let it go."

Katara stayed quiet. She didn't want to start another fight in front of her children, or make Tenzin even more uncomfortable. Katara knew that Kya didn't just spit that out off the top of her head. That was the result of internal damage built up from long periods of time, and Katara only hoped that it wasn't built up from multiple years of feeling that way.

When Kya had slammed the dining room door behind her, Bumi was standing in the kitchen, the room that was connected to the dining area, eating a pancake from the serving plate. He didn't even have his shirt on, it just hung from the waistband of his pants. Kya observed him, her eyes darting up and down. Clearly she was angry, and Bumi noticed immediately.

"Oi, what's that look for?" Bumi yelled accusingly, "I didn't do nothing!"

Kya's face softened, and she realized that she was a lot more angry than she thought. Immediately she apologized to Bumi, and explained why her morning was already ruined.

"Oh shit," Was Bumi's response.

Kya nodded. They stood in silence for a few minutes. Kya decided that she didn't want to wait for Bumi to go to school. Bumi was still getting ready, and Kya was finished. She heard the forks clash on the plates in the dining room, and heard Katara collecting the plates from breakfast.

"I'm gonna head out early," Kya said, "I really don't want to be here any longer. I'll see you in school."

"Alright, see you later."

* * *

A few hours later after Kya and Bumi were off to school, the house was finally clean and quiet. Katara was finishing hanging up the laundry when she heard the phone ring in Aang's office. She didn't realize that Aang wasn't home until she heard it ring a few more times. Katara just let it ring, as the caller could just leave a message. She was in the middle of hanging up one of her children's shirts when she heard the principal of Kya and Bumi's school come on the answering machine.

"Hello to whom it may concern," The old female's voice was loud and clear as she started. "I'm calling today due to the absence of your daughter, Kya. She wasn't present during attendance in homeroom, or in her first two classes this morning. If she is home, please call us back and let us know the reason for her absence. Thanks, and have a good day. Buh-bye."

Immediately, the fear was flowing through every vein in Katara's body. After the incident at breakfast, she didn't see Kya go off to school, or made sure she got there safely.

 _The one time I don't see her leave for school,_ Katara thought, _And now I have no idea where she could possibly be._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you thought! :) Feedback is always appreciated.**


	2. The Carnival

**Chapter 2 - The Carnival**

 **UPDATE: TO MY READERS WHO HAVE READ BEFORE: I CHANGED THE PART WHERE KYA AND KARIANA MEET THOSE BOYS.**

* * *

On the way to school was Kya's cousin's house. If she took a right, she'd be at the school, but if she took a left she'd be in her cousin's neighborhood. Her cousin is younger than her by 4 months. Suki and Katara were both pregnant around the same time with Kya and Kariana. Kariana was Suki's youngest, their oldest was a year ahead Bumi. His name was Koda, but he was away for his studies to become a mechanist.

Kya normally walked to school after picking up Kariana, but she had other plans in mind. She knocked on Kariana's door, and when she opened it, Kariana looked as if she'd just rolled out of bed. She was about to apologize when Kya smiled, and shook her head.

"Take your time," Kya ordered. "We're not going to school today."

"I like the sound of that!" Kariana exclaimed. "Oh, you're welcome to come in and wait while I come in."

Kariana held the door open for her. Kya stepped into the house, realizing that it was empty. She asked where Suki and Sokka were, and Kariana explained that they were already at work. They both worked on the council together, and were always held up with "political squabbles."

"That's cool then," Kya said, "We can just ditch with no worries."

"What about your parents?" Kariana asked. "They're going to be worried when they get a call from the school."

Kya avoided the question by redirecting it.

"My parents won't care," Kariana said. "It's about to be spring break, they know I how much I hate school."

"Mine do too," Kya started, "Yet they still send me and Bumi, and spoil Tenzin by keeping him home and letting him learn the fun way."

Kariana frowned. She was always Kya's soundboard whenever Kya had to rant about anything. She'd say that 90% of the time it'd be about how Aang favored Tenzin. Kya never openly ranted to anyone else besides Bumi. Suki and Sokka didn't know how excluded Bumi and Kya constantly felt; it was only something the kids knew about. Kariana could never empathize, as she was treated equally with Koda, her older brother.

"I'm sorry they treat you that way," Kariana said.

Kya shrugged. She didn't want to get too upset about it. She just wanted to have a fun day off from school, on her own terms.

"Wanna go to the carnival?" Kya asked.

"Dude, it'd take weeks to get there," Kariana said, thinking of the annual carnival down in the South Pole.

"No, the one here in Republic City," Kya said with a laugh. "I know a few people are ditching today, a lot of the hot popular kids, might I add."

"Hell yeah I wanna go!" Kariana said, jumping with excitement. "You gotta help me pick out something cute then!"

* * *

Katara ran around the house, frantically searching for any evidence of where Kya could possibly be. She was also looking for Aang, to see if he had any speculation. When she searched her bedroom, she found Kya's diary laying under her desk. Being nosy, and panicked, she opened it and started flipping through the pages.

 _May 2, (2 years ago)_

 _I just found out that Dad took Tenzin to Kyoshi Island behind all of our backs! Tenzin accidentally slipped when we were out in the courtyard practicing our bending. I was so mad, I just left. Apparently they got to ride the giant koi fish, and learn all about the past Avatar Kyoshi. I heard she made the island herself, breaking it away from everything else in a fight. I wish I had those kind of powers so I didn't have to feel left out. I could just be alone and do my own thing._

Katara sighed. This had been going on for a lot longer than she thought. She'd assumed that Kya had ran away at this point, and rushed to the phone in Aang's office. She dialed Suki, intending to ask if she had any idea where Kya was.

"Hello?"

"Suki, it's me," Katara said when she picked up. "Kya's gone. She skipped school today after a heated conversation during breakfast this morning. Did she happen to run to your house this morning?"

"I was gone before 6 this morning; Sokka and I were called in. Kariana skipped school today too. I'm sure they're together somewhere. I wouldn't be too worried." Suki answered.

"You don't care that she skipped school?" Katara asked, sounded taken aback.

"Not really," Suki said. "I know how much she hates going. Spring break starts this weekend. They probably took off to have an extra day. It's not that big of a deal Katara, they could be doing worse things than that."

Katara sighed, "I suppose you're right. I just feel so bad after what happened this morning."

"What happened this morning?"

Katara said that she would explain at lunch. She would stop by for their lunch break, as it was apparently a longer story than Katara first thought. After that, they said their goodbye's and hung up.

Katara slammed the phone down, and flopped into Aang's office chair. She glanced out the window, and saw Appa land in the courtyard. Following that, Aang made an over-exaggerated landing off Appa, and airbended Tenzin up into the air, causing him to break out into laughter. Katara barely ever saw that childish smile on Tenzin's face, as he was always so serious around everyone else.

 _Maybe Kya was right..._ She thought.

* * *

The carnival was a lot more crowded than the two teenagers expected it would be. Half of the population of their school had to have been there. Once they got in, all they saw were people running around, and long lines that wrapped around the perimeter.

"We should have left sooner," Kariana said, looking disappointed at how crowded it was.

"Good thing we've got flash passes!" Kya exclaimed, running over to one of the roller coasters.

Aang and Katara would always bring them to the carnivals as kids, so they would always have annual season passes. They also bought the package deal where they got flash passes, which let them get to the front of any line in the duration that they were there for.

But today, even the flash pass lane had a bit of a line. Not nearly as bad as the regular line, though.

In front of them, was a group of boys from their grade. Kya internally groaned, as some of them were popular. They immediately recognized Kya and Kariana, and they exchanged a series of strange looks. Amongst the group of boys, Kya and Kariana saw a new face. The boys huddled up and began whispering frantically.

"Who are they?" They heard the new boy asked.

"Their names are Kya and Kariana," One boy answered. "They're pretty cool, and hot."

"I see that," the new boy said with a grin. "What's the one in the blue shirt? The one with the gray tank top underneath."

Kariana was wearing a blue plaid cardigan with a gray tank top underneath. She wore dark blue denim shorts, and black shoes. Half of her hair was tied up into a bun in the back. She did look very pretty, for someone who had gotten ready in just under 10 minutes.

"Her name's Kariana," The boy answered. "You should go over there and talk to her!"

The group of boys shoved him over to the two girls, and he stood there for a second, awkwardly stuttering.

"Sorry about them," He said. "I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ryuu, and I'm new."

"Hi Ryuu," Kariana said. "This is Kya, and my name is Kariana. It's nice to meet you. Where are you from?"

"I'm from the fire nation," Ryuu said.

"Wow, that's quite a distance," Kariana commented. "We have family out there, that's pretty cool, though."

"Wait, you two are related?" He asked.

Kya couldn't help but giggle, as she knew that Kariana was talking about Zuko. This part of the conversation always got interesting whenever she introduced herself to new people.

"We're cousins," Kya commented.

 _I guess we're not going to bring up Zuko,_ Kya thought, _That'll probably be a good conversation starter for later, though._

"That's so cool!" Ryuu exclaimed. "Two pretty ladies in one family, huh?"

Kya and Kariana both blushed. Kariana was smiling sheepishly. Ryuu smiled back at her, and Kya swore she saw hearts in his eyes. Kya thanked him for the compliment. He responded kindly, and kept flirting with both girls. Though, a lot of his pick-up lines were directed to Kariana. Kariana was giggly, and would flirt back. But there wasn't too much time, as the line was moving, and they were almost next.

"So after we get off this ride, why don't we all hang out and get to know each other a little more?" Kariana suggested.

"I would definitely like that," Ryuu said with a smile.

* * *

 **Love is in the air? Find out next chapter.**


	3. Comeuppance

**Chapter 3 - Comeuppance**

 **Lots 'a dialogue in this one!**

* * *

It was almost sundown when the two girls returned home from the carnival. Kya went home with Kariana, avoiding going back to her home purposely. At the carnival, she'd started talking to a boy named Kesuk, while Kariana was talking to Ryuu. They four of them got each other's phone numbers, so they could talk on the phone later. Kya was so excited she had something to look forward to everyday.

"Do you think Ryuu likes me?" Kariana asked. "I heard him and his friends talking about me before we left."

"He definitely does!" Kya answered. "I could tell by the way he looked at you."

"I would say the same thing about Kesuk," Kariana commented. She watched Kya sheepishly blush. "This is so cool. We got to meet some really cute boys today, and I'm surprised to see that they were so nice."

Unfortunately, the two girls didn't notice that Sokka was standing in the doorway of Kariana's bedroom, and happened to overhear the last part of their conversation. He cleared his throat loudly, causing the two girls to jump and scream.

"Damn, I didn't think I'd scare you that much," Sokka said with a laugh.

Kariana's whole face turned red from embarrassment, "Dad, what are you doing?" She yelled at him accusingly.

Sokka threw his hands up in defense, "Hey, I just happened to walk by and hear both of your voices. I didn't notice you two were talking about boys until just a second ago."

Kariana covered her heated, red face and grunted, "This is so embarrassing."

Sokka laughed in response, and stepped into the room. He walked over and sat down on Kariana's bed. "Actually, I have something to talk to you about. And I'd prefer if it were in private. Your mom is looking for you, by the way, Kya. She sounded very worried today at lunch. I'd love to have you stay over, but I think you should go back home and talk to her and let her know that you're alright."

Kya groaned, "I'm sorry Uncle Sokka, I'll leave you two alone. But I really don't think I should go back home tonight. I don't know if you heard, but I got in a fight with my dad today, and I'm still too mad to go back." Kya began to walk over to the door when Sokka said something back to her.

"I don't like telling you what to do, especially since you're not my daughter, but your mom will beat both of us up if she found out that you spent the night here when you have the choice to go back home. I'm well aware about the fight this morning at breakfast. It really upset your mom. She really needs to talk to you, though."

Kya sighed, "Did she finally realize I was right?"

Sokka hesitated. It sent a chill down his spine, as he thought it was creepy that she said that. Katara was talking to Sokka and Suki earlier that day at lunch, in tears, about Kya and Bumi being excluded from Aang and Tenzin. He remembered how upset and sorry Katara was.

"I think that's something you should discuss with her," Sokka said, but there was a sad edge to his tone. Kya recognized this, and she nodded.

"All right," Kya said, sounding defeated. "I'll go. But don't be worried if I come back later tonight. Hopefully we resolve things."

"I hope so too," Sokka said. "Good luck, niecelette."

Niecelette was the name Sokka would occasionally call Kya, usually when they were goofing off. Kya never liked being called "kiddo" so that's the name Sokka stuck with. Kya giggled. She waved goodbye, and left the room.

* * *

Kya slowly dragged her feet into the dormitory of their home. She stood in the foyer, after kicking off her shoes. She announced that she was home. She then heard Katara coming her way. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself for a long argument.

Katara grabbed Kya's wrist, and led her to Kya's bedroom. When they entered the room, Katara shut the door behind her. They each took a seat on Kya's bed, sitting together in an awkward silence at first. Kya didn't say anything; she was waiting for Katara to start.

"You really scared me today," Katara said. "The second I heard that voice message from your school, I only thought the worst. I was so angry this morning after hearing what you said to your father."

"I'm sorry I scared you," Kya said. She was not sorry about what she said to Aang, and Katara knew that's what she was thinking. She accepted her daughter's apology.

"I was so scared, and mad, and I was trying to find where you had gone," Katara said, "I'm sorry, but I saw your diary, and i..."

"And you read it, didn't you?" Kya asked, jumping off the bed, and facing her with an angry stance.

"But before you get too mad," Katara said, throwing up a hand to keep the distance. "I only read one entry. And it was about dad and Tenzin, from two years ago. I'm so sorry I never noticed how much he really is excluding you two. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him about it, but I definitely will tonight."

Immediately, Kya began to tear up. She jumped into her mother's arms and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so glad you finally noticed," Kya cried. "It was about time. I'm so tired of being treated this way; he's my father. This isn't recess on the playground at school. It's ridiculous how much he favors Tenzin over us."

"You're absolutely right," Katara admitted, and she began to tear up herself. "This is ridiculous. I'm going to talk to him right now."

"Just so you know, that's not the only time he has taken Tenzin, and Tenzin only, out on a secret vacation," Kya said. "I found out he took him to Ember Island, both the water tribes... The list goes on."

Katara was almost shaking in anger, "This can't wait. I'm about to rip your father's head off."

"Serve him up, Ma," Kya said, "Show 'em who's boss."

"You bet I will, sweetie," She said with a side grin.

* * *

Katara marched down the hall, and entered their bedroom, where Aang was laying on the bed reading the Republic City newspaper. Fortunately, Tenzin wasn't anywhere in sight. When Aang heard her walk in, he favored her with a smile. But when he saw how angry she was, it immediately changed to a look of fear. Uh oh.

"Yeah, uh oh," Katara growled. "We have some serious business to talk about, mister."

Aang was almost wincing, "... And that is?"

"Do you even know where Kya was today?" Katara started off.

"Uh, I hope she was in school," Aang stammered, slowly sitting up on their bed.

"Wrong!" Katara yelled, causing him to wince a bit. "She ran off with her cousin today, completely blowing off school. You know why? She was so mad after the little incident this morning at breakfast."

Aang reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, "Shit... Did she really?"

Katara slowly nodded, her angry eyes still locked on Aang's. "And where were you when I received the phone call, informing me about her absence? That's right, you were out playing fun and games with Tenzin!"

Aang sighed, now he was getting frustrated, "So this is about me spending time with Tenzin..."

"Yeah, but what about your other two kids, Aang?" Katara asked, throwing her arms up in anger. She was even more angry when Aang didn't have a response. "Do you know what I found out today? I found out that you and Tenzin have taken plenty of vacations, alone."

"I can explain about that," Aang said, standing up from the bed, "Most of those trips were down to the Air Temples, to get him closer with the culture."

"Okay, no," Katara interjected. "Taking him to Ember Island for a week is not the same as taking him to the Air Temples."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck again, nervously.

"I finally get what Kya and Bumi have been saying now. I understand their pain," Katara yelled. "They're so upset with you, and I am too. They have told me, countless amounts of times throughout their childhood, about how excluded they feel! Aang, those are your children, you should be treating them equally!"

"I'm sorry that they've felt this way," Aang explained, "But you have to understand, it's not easy being the last of your entire race. I've taken those trips to help Tenzin learn to be more comfortable as an airbender, and not to feel like an outcast."

"Ironic, since it's your other two kids who are being outcasted," Katara grunted.

Aang looked at her with a sorrowful look.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Katara was now screaming, "If you can't treat all of your kids equally, then maybe you shouldn't be living with them at all."

Aang gasped. An emotional lump formed in his throat, and his breath hitched. He was absolutely speechless from shock. He didn't want to say Katara was overreacting, because she made several good points. She was verbally crushing him. He couldn't breathe. Katara stood there in disappointment, watching him struggle with what to say. She folded her hands across her chest, and tapped her foot.

"I can't believe you," Katara said, her pitch was low, but angry. "You really don't know what to say, do you?"

"Katara, I'm-"

"No!" Katara interrupted. "No more 'I'm sorry' bullshit. That's not going to work. I'm not the one to apologize to anyway."

"You can't do this," Aang cried. "You can't take them away from me. I didn't mean for things to end up like this."

"Well I didn't either, but here we are," Katara said. "And it wouldn't make much of a difference if we left, considering all you care about is Tenzin."

It was as if she had delivered the final blow to his heart. Those last few words cut him deep. Katara's blood went cold when she saw his eyes briefly flash white, for a split second. She was not about to have her bedroom destroyed, she needed him to calm down.

"Don't you dare jump into the Avatar State," Katara yelled. "This is not the time. We need to discuss this, and _maybe_ we'll be able to work things out."

Aang sighed, "I'm so sorry Katara. I had no idea how much I've been neglecting them."

She glared at him before she continued, "Do you know that Kya came home today, crying about how upset she is, that you don't spend enough time with her and Bumi?"

Katara's eyes teared up as she said that, and she realized Aang's did too.

"Spirits, what have I done?" Aang cried, collapsing to his knees. "I'm a terrible father."

Katara remained silent. She listened to Aang cry, trying not to scream at him, or cry too. She watched as he regained his strength to get off of the floor, and walk over to Katara. He attempted to hug her, but she shoved his arms away.

"No," She growled.

"I don't deserve this..." Aang moaned.

"Your children don't deserve this," Katara growled. "I don't think they deserve to be here with you right now."

Katara turned around and started to walk out of the room. Aang leaped forward and grabbed her shoulder, and spun her back around. He didn't realize how hard he grabbed her until she yelped out in pain. He immediately took his hand away, and apologized.

"I've had enough," Katara said, her eyes tearing up again. "I'm leaving. Do not grab me again!"

"I'm sorry," He said, bowing his head in defeat. "I'll leave you be."

Katara rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. And out in the hallway was Kya and Bumi, each with a bag full of clothes to go spend the night somewhere.

"You've got the right idea, kids," Katara muttered.

And they followed her out the door.

* * *

 **Eek.**


	4. Everyone Needs A Little Time

**Chapter 4 - Everyone Needs A Little Time**

* * *

Katara, Kya, and Bumi checked into a nice hotel in down town Republic City. It was a very nice, classy hotel with a spa, a bar, a big pool, hot tubs, and a dining area. The lounge was pretty nice too. It was a big room, with a bunch of couches surrounding a fireplace. Bumi and Kya had their own hotel room, which was down the hall from Katara's suite. It was around 10pm when Kya wandered down the hall to knock on her mother's door. Katara answered, and let her in.

"What's up, sweetie?" Katara asked.

"Are you and daddy getting a divorce?" Kya asked, so sweetly and innocently. Yet, there was sadness in her tone.

She watched as her question made Katara freeze. Katara didn't know how much of the argument her children had heard, but she was hoping she didn't hear that part where Katara mentioned them splitting up. The last thing Katara needed right now was more family drama. She was just hoping to spend a nice night in the hotel away from Aang, and the tension they'd just created in the previous hours.

"Don't worry about that now, sweetie," Katara said, climbing back into her bed. She patted on the empty space beside her for Kya to come join her. Kya jumped up, and curled up next to her mother.

"Good," Kya said, hugging her mother, "Because I didn't want to start any trouble with this whole sibling rivalry thing- Or, well, that's what Bumi refers to it as."

Katara laughed at the goofy nickname. She loved how her kids reminded her of how she and her brother was when she was their age. She smiled at Kya, and Kya smiled back. She pulled Kya into a closer embrace, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"I don't know how much of that little argument I had with your father," Katara said, "But we will work things out. Your father has a lot of owning up to do to you and your older brother. I'm so sorry I never noticed it before."

Kya squeezed her mother reassuringly, "It's okay. I don't know if it'll be the same though."

Katara looked down at her, with sad cerulean eyes.

"Like now whenever he spends time with us it's going to be awkward and feel forced," Kya admitted. "Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut."

"I'll talk to him about that, too," Katara said, "I'll make sure it won't be awkward or forced. It's about time you guys get to go on vacation. After all, it's spring break."

Immediately, Kya thought about Kesuk. She told him she would be able to hang out all of spring break, since she didn't have any planned vacations. She was hoping she would be able to get to know him better, and become his girlfriend, officially.

"Maybe," Kya said with a shrug. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed. See you tomorrow, mom."

"Night, sweetie."

* * *

Kya found her way to Kariana's house from the hotel. She had snuck out late at night, and knocked on Kariana's window. Kariana was still awake, and she had just gotten off the telephone with Ryuu.

Kariana opened her window, and helped Kya climb in. She then flopped back into her bed, and scooted over to make room for Kya. Kya crawled on, and sat up near the head of the bed.

"How'd it go?" Kariana asked.

" _Bad_ ," Kya said, dragging out the word.

Kariana sat up and faced her. She looked at her with concerned eyes. She expected tears to come after a long sigh from Kya, which sounded sad, but when she spoke she sounded apathetic.

"My mom left with me and Bumi and we're staying in a hotel," Kya said.

Kariana gasped. She froze for a second with complete terror. She could never imagine Katara and Aang splitting up so suddenly. It must have been one hell of a fight.

"What did she say to him?" Kariana asked.

"Basically everything," Kya explained, "She actually understood my pain. It made me so happy. And now she's saying that she'll work it out with my dad, so that it'll finally be equal."

"But won't it feel forced?" Kariana asked.

"That's exactly what I said," Kya said, "but then my mom explained that she would make sure it wasn't. For once in a while, I'm feeling hopeful."

Kariana smiled, "That's so great." But she didn't sound too happy. Kya immediately detected this, and asked her about it.

"It's my parents," Kariana said with a sad sigh.

 _What is it with our parents and always having problems?_ Kya wondered. Her heart almost stopped. What could possibly going wrong with Sokka and Suki's relationship? They were soulmates, just like Katara and Aang.

"Oh no," Kya cried, "What ha-"

"No, it's not like your situation," Kariana said. "They said I can't date Ryuu because I'm too young."

Kya gasped, "Oh no! That's terrible!"

"What's worse is that they were our age when they were dating."

Kya nodded. She knew the whole story; while Aang was trying to get Katara to notice him and have romantic feelings for him, Sokka was going out with Suki, and basically doing the same thing. Only Sokka wasn't with Suki everyday like he was with Katara and Aang, so it was a lot more difficult for him to be with her.

"Honestly though, just date him behind their backs," Kya said.

Kariana nodded, "I will, but it's going to be hard. After you left, my dad sat down with me and we talked for almost an hour about boys and sexual shit. It was kinda awkward, but I understand why he did it."

Kya nodded.

"What about you?" Kariana asked, "Did you even tell your parents about Kesuk?"

Kya shook her head, "I don't think I had the chance to with everything that happened tonight."

"True."

The two girls laid back down on the bed. Kya put her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling for a bit. Kariana was curled up on her right side, facing Kya, but she was zoned out. There was a window on the wall Kariana was facing, and she was looking out at the dark abyss Republic City was in the middle of the night.

Kariana was used to the boring view of darkness at this hour. Usually the city lights would shine through her windows, the constant honking of vehicle horns sometimes kept her awake, and the loudness from people walking around didn't help either. Kariana favored the city at these dead hours, she enjoyed the silence. She always wished she lived on Air Temple Island to be away from all the noise.

Kya was dazing off, dreaming about all the possible fun vacations she could take with her dad, now that someone had finally given him a well-deserved reality check. She dreamed of going to Ember Island to surf the waves, and build giant sand castles. She really wanted to go down to the South Pole to visit her grandfather and just be in more touch with the culture she was more attached to.

It's not that Kya didn't like being part air-nomad, it's how Aang directed most of his teachings about the air-nomad culture to Tenzin. When she was younger, before Tenzin was born, she appreciated listening to the stories at bed time of Aang's past. That was when she learned she was "mixed." Plus, she's a water bender, so she's bound to be more connected to the water tribe. It was just more natural to her.

"Are you going to spend the night or go back to the hotel?" Kariana's voice broke her chain of thought, and reminded Kya that she wasn't even in her own house.

"Oh yeah," She said, "I should probably get back so that my mom doesn't wake up and notice I'm gone."

Kariana helped Kya leave through her bedroom window, and wished her good luck before Kya ran off into the darkness.

* * *

There was no problem getting back into the hotel room the night before. Bumi was sound asleep, and since he was such a heavy sleeper, he never heard her leave or come back. It was still dark, and an unusual time for any interactions in the city. She flopped into the other full sized bed, and immediately fell asleep. Unfortunately, her slumber only felt as if she slept for 5 minutes.

When she fell asleep, it was 4 in the morning, and when she woke up it was 8. Her mother and Bumi were peering over her, yelling at her to wake up. Kya slowly opened her eyes to see Katara, who was holding up her already packed back, pointing to it, and yelling words that Kya's exhausted mind was too incapable of comprehending yet.

"Kya, come on already!" Bumi whined.

But Kya just stared through him with tired eyes, that were already beginning to close again. She heard her mother grunt angrily, as her eyes completely shut once again. Before she knew it though, she was woken up by what felt like a mini waterfall collapsing onto her face.

She sprung up, coughing to catch her breath, and screeching at the top of her lungs. Katara angrily crossed her arms across her chest, while Kya threw a fit.

"Mom, that was _not_ cool!" She cried, "I didn't get much sleep at all! What's the rush for anyway?"

Katara sighed, "Check out is at 9 o'clock sharp. I needed to make sure you were up and running."

Kya glanced over at the digital clock that stood on a nightstand beside her bed. It was barely a few minutes after 8 o'clock, and her mother was already rushing her. She swung her feet over the bed, and hopped out. Katara realized she was still in yesterday's clothes, and thought it was suspicious. Kya was looking around for a new outfit, not realizing that her belongings were already packed, thanks to Katara.

"You said you didn't get much sleep?" Katara asked.

Kya shook her head, "I fell asleep late. 4 hours felt like 5 minutes."

"Why are you in yesterday's clothes?" Katara asked.

"I guess I just forgot to change," Kya said, with a chuckle, laughing at herself. "Speaking of which, where's all my stuff?"

Katara grunted angrily and rolled her eyes. She held up Kya's bag, containing her perfectly packed clothes for the previous night. Kya jumped with excitement and skipped over to Katara. She grabbed her bag, and latched onto Katara for a big hug.

"You packed my stuff for me?" Kya asked. "You're too sweet, Mom. I love you!"

Instead of being angry with Kya, for having to back her clothing for her, Katara decided to brush it off, and hugged her back. She sat down on Kya's momentary bed, and crossed her arms. Her face was wiped with an expression of sorrow. Kya immediately noticed this, and sat beside her on the foot of the bed.

"What's up, mom?" Kya asked. "Are you still not ready to go home?"

Katara let out a distressed sigh, "No, not really."

Bumi sat down on his bed, which was right next to Kya's. He sat there staring at Kya and Katara, listening to the conversation.

"I thought you were going to make everything okay with Dad?" Kya asked.

Katara looked around before she answered. She was just thinking about their fight, and then how she just left him there with Tenzin. She called him out for something he was doing too much, which was spending too much time solely with Tenzin, and then took their other two kids with her and left. Now he was there alone with Tenzin, which only provided him with more time alone with Tenzin.

Then she thought about what she said to Aang, how she talked about splitting up. She knew she loved him, but now she was finding out this whole other side of him that she never knew was true. She only thought Kya and Bumi were just making up lies in the past. It was so hard for them to convince her. She felt as if she'd been hit by a giant truck, and then repetitively ran over. She felt like absolute crap, and as if she neglected her two children for their entire lives.

"I just can't believe I never noticed what he was doing until now," Katara said, tears beginning to flood her eyes.

Bumi switched over to Kya's bed to sit beside Katara. He put an arm around her, and hugged her close.

"I'm proud that you even noticed," Bumi said. "It doesn't matter how long it took you to notice. Once you did, you spoke up immediately. You did the right thing, Mom."

Katara looked up at her son and smiled. She hugged him back, and pulled him in so she could kiss the top of his head. She wrapped her other arm around Kya, who instantly accepted the hug, and curled up to her mother's side. She wrapped both her arms around Katara, and nuzzled her head into her side.

"It's going to be awkward coming back to the house," Katara said. "I mean, with your father and all. But, I just have to do what I did before and speak up immediately."

Bumi smiled and nodded, "We can be at your side if you need us to be."

"No," Katara answered. "I have something to talk about with him that'll have to be just between me and your father. I threatened to split up with him, but I don't think I meant it."

"You better not have," Kya interjected, "As unfair as it is in that household, I like us as a whole. I hope you can work it out."

"Me too, sweetie."

* * *

By the time it was 11 o'clock in the morning, Katara, Bumi, and Kya were back home. Kya and Bumi went into their own rooms, while Katara went around the temple looking for Aang. She wasn't surprised to see he wasn't in their bedroom. He was usually out in the Temple Grounds, practicing bending or in a meditation session with Tenzin.

Katara snuck into the meditation dojo, surprised to only see Aang sitting there. He was clearly in deep though, as his eyebrows were furrowed together, like they always would be whenever he was focused on something. She knew he didn't know she was there. She glanced around for her youngest son, but was surprised to see he was no where in sight, what so ever.

She walked up behind Aang, and stood there for a moment. She had her hands placed on her hips, as she was thinking for a good way to start a conversation, without having it immediately turn into an argument. She knew if she asked where Tenzin was, he would take it the wrong way, and it would start an argument. She was stuck in a thought, and didn't notice that Aang had shifted his position slightly, and now knew that someone was in the room with him. His first conclusion was that it was just Tenzin.

"Any reason why you're standing there and not joining me, Tenzin?" He asked.

He opened one eye, and took in the surroundings that stood in front of him, first. No one was in front of him, so therefore, the person had to be standing behind him. He twisted himself around, to face who he thought was Tenzin, and was caught off-guard, realizing it was Katara. He turned back around, and slouched his back.

"Oh," Was the only sound that came out of his mouth. He sounded disappointed.

When he looked up at Katara, all he saw was that her arms were on her hips, and since she was in deep thought, she looked angry. He didn't realize that she was actually there to make things better, though he was hoping for some kind of civil discussion.

"That came out wrong," Aang rushed to correct himself. He didn't want his short remark to be taken the wrong way, and have that start an argument either.

Katara was still thinking about ways to start off the conversation, so the only thing she responded with was a demand.

"Stand up."

"Um, okay," Aang said, quickly jumping up to his feet. He turned around to face her, and stood there observing her with a nervous expression on his face.

Katara avoided eye contact at first. She was still at a loss for words. The only way she could think of doing it was the "ripping off the bandaid" solution. She sighed, and then looked back up at him.

"Look," She started, "I didn't mean to scare you the other night, when I threatened to split up."

 _How else was I supposed to feel?_ Aang thought. But he knew not to dare say that to her face.

"I don't know how to explain how I felt when I found out about how you were treating Kya and Bumi," Katara continued. "But I was hurt for them, and I was also angry. Obviously, I had to confront you about it. But I didn't mean to threaten to split us up. I still love you, I'm just furious with you right now. I just hope you learned something last night."

Aang half-smiled, "I love you, too. I'm glad you confronted me about it, because it definitely taught me a lesson. So yes, I absolutely did learn something."

Katara smiled, "Good."

Without them realizing, they'd began to slowly close the distance between them. Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of each other, and gazing into each other's eyes for a short moment.

"So do you forgive me?" Aang asked.

"Not completely," Katara said.

"Do you forgive me enough for me to be able to hug you?" Aang asked, looking very hopeful, which made Katara laugh. It took Katara a moment, but she eventually nodded. Who could resist a hug, especially from the person you love the most?

Aang pulled her into his embrace, and rested his head on top of hers. They stood there for a moment, wrapped in each other's arms. But then, Katara looked up, and stood up on her toes so that she could kiss him on the lips. Aang was taken by surprise, since he thought she would be too mad to do more than hug her, but he went with it.

His hand traveled up to the back of her head, to deepen the kiss. Before they knew it, they were practically making out, and rubbing their hands all over each other's backs. Though Aang's head immediately travelled too far, and he decided to slide his hands down to her bottom. He attempted to goose her, but then she remembered how angry she still was with him, and immediately pulled away, slapping him across the face in the process.

"Hey!" He cried out.

She waved a finger at him, the motion that meant no, "Not-uh. You don't get any of that yet."

Aang frowned, "I'm sorry, I just thought since-"

"Don't forget that I'm still mad at you, and you have wounds to heal." Katara motioned head, pointing at the door which led to rest of the temple, where Kya and Bumi were in. "That's all you, boo."

"You're right," Aang said with a slight exhale.

"I'm always right," Katara teased him with a kiss on the cheek. Then she proceeded to walk out of the dojo. Aang had to apologize to his kids on his own, and that's exactly what Katara was implying. When she was on her way out of the dojo, she was well aware that Aang was watching her walk away. She couldn't stop him from admiring from a distance.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


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